Michael J. Pacilio, president and chief nuclear officer of Exelon Nuclear, was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer of Exelon Generation, the business unit overseeing all of Exelon’s generating stations. Bryan Hanson, Exelon Nuclear COO, will assume Pacilio’s previous roles.
More: PR Newswire
Dynegy Betting on Edwards Station, Commits to Emissions Investments
Dynegy said it plans to upgrade pollution controls at the E.D. Edwards coal-fired plant in Bartonville, Ill., rather than shut the 695-MW plant down in response to more stringent emissions standards. It told Illinois officials that the improvements would reduce Edwards’ noxious emissions by 90%.
As part of the agreement reached with state environmental authorities, Dynegy will continue its 10-year practice of burning low-sulfur coal.
Environmental groups were pleased with the news, but they cautioned that the plant would still produce waste. “While Dynegy’s announcement represents one step in addressing one type of coal plant emissions, there are still many harmful pollutants emitted from the coal plant’s stacks and dumped into its ash ponds on a daily basis,” a Sierra Club spokesperson said.
More: JournalStar
Exelon Appealing Valuation of Byron Nuclear Station
Exelon often touts the value of its nuclear generating stations. But not for tax purposes.
For the third straight year, the company is appealing Ogle County’s assessed value of its Byron Generating Station in Illinois. The county’s Supervisor of Assessments puts the value of the nuclear plant at $509 million. Exelon says it should be set at $212.6 million.
The company appealed assessments in 2012 and 2013, but both times the Ogle County Board of Review upheld the valuations — $449 million in 2012 and $509 million in 2013. Exelon’s appeals are still pending before the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board.
More: Ogle County News
PPL Asks for More Time to Meet Spinoff Conditions
PPL is asking for more time to meet Federal Energy Regulatory Commission conditions to win approval of the spinoff of its generating assets to Talen Energy.
In December, FERC set a series of conditions to increase market competition for the spinoff. PPL told FERC last week that it would be unable to complete the plan by the Jan. 20 deadline and asked for an extension of 10 days. Talen Energy would combine the generating assets of PPL and Riverstone Holdings.
PPL and Riverstone are still determining which plants to divest to meet the FERC conditions. PPL spokesman George Lewis said an extension would not delay completion of the deal.
More: LancasterOnline
JD Power: PSE&G Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Large Eastern Utilities
Public Service Electric & Gas topped the list for business customer satisfaction among large Eastern electric utilities, according to the latest survey by J.D. Power.
PSE&G scored 685, above the segment average of 659 for electric business customers. PPL came in at 681, while Exelon’s PECO scored 644, dropping in rankings from fourth to ninth. Pepco Holdings’ Delmarva Power & Light ranked highest among mid-sized utilities. All three of Duke Energy’s utilities — Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Florida — came in at the bottom of the Southern region rankings.
More: The Philadelphia Inquirer
NRG Concentrating on Solar as Energy Generation Prices Droop
NRG Energy is taking aim at the rooftop solar installation market in the face of declining profits in the conventional power generation industry.
NRG President David Crane said his company wants to move up the charts among domestic solar installers. SolarCity Corp. current ranks first in the U.S., according to GTM Research, and NRG ranks fifth. “We expect to convincingly persuade our investors that NRG has an embedded SolarCity within it,” Crane said.
The company plans to install 250 MW of home solar systems this year, 875 MW by 2017 and 2,400 MW by 2022. Market leader SolarCity installed 520 MW last year. “Everyone is beginning to believe that residential solar is this trillion-dollar market that currently has about 1% market penetration,” Crane said.
More: Bloomberg News